In re: Aubiel, No. 14-8051 (6th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDebtor filed a voluntary chapter 7 bankruptcy petition and listed Dennison, Ohio as the mailing address on the petition, but listed Debtor’s residence as 2035 First Street, Dock 9, Sandusky, Ohio. This location is the dock slip where Debtor kept his boat. Debtor listed the boat on Schedule B as “residential boat 46 foot 1988 SeaRayBoat.” On schedule C, Debtor claimed the boat exempt pursuant to Ohio’s homestead exemption. In July 2012, Debtor’s 38-year marriage ended. As part of the dissolution, Debtor transferred real property to his ex-wife, including their former marital home. Debtor asserts that after the dissolution of his marriage3 he moved into his boat and began using it as his full-time residence. The mailing address on the petition is Debtor’s former marital home, now belonging to and occupied by his ex-wife. The Trustee timely filed an objection and sought turnover of the boat. The bankruptcy court held that “the Chapter 7 Trustee has met his burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the Sea Ray boat was not Debtor’s residence at the time of filing. The Sixth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel agreed that the Ohio homestead exemption cannot be claimed on the vessel and ordered turnover of the boat.
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